We are people from all around the world, asking participants of the Titans of Metal Festival to reconsider their concert in apartheid Israel, until Israel complies with international law and respects the rights of the indigenous Palestinian people.

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement was launched in 2005 by the largest coalition in Palestinian civil society as a reaction to Israel’s ongoing policies of colonialism, military occupation, and apartheid towards the indigenous Palestinian people, including the denial of 7 million Palestinian refugees their fundamental right to return to their homes, as stipulated in UN resolution 194.

The BDS call is “inspired by the struggle of South Africans against apartheid and in the spirit of international solidarity, moral consistency and resistance to injustice and oppression.” The Israeli government is a persistent violator of international law and has failed to respect fundamental human rights. Performing in Tel Aviv today is similar to performing in Sun City, South Africa during the Apartheid era. As Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu pointed out, “if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Tutu and other South African leaders today describe Israel as also an apartheid state.

We urge you to join thousands of artists, musicians, authors and cultural workers from around the globe who have heeded the call of the absolute majority in Palestinian civil society for a “cultural boycott of Israel” and refused to perform there, given the system of injustice that prevails.

How this will help

Culture is not created in a vaccum. Culture that ignores human rights violations and is used to whitewash war crimes and crimes against humanity, and cultural workers who accept money in this context, are complicit. The many victories of the BDS movement so far have shown us that culture can shine a light on these crimes, instead of muffling the cries of the victims. Please support the Palestinian people and their non-violent strategy of resistance, and SIGN this petition calling on the participants of the "Titans of Metal" concert, in Israel, to boycott this whitewashing event.